A South Korean mountaineer hailed as the first woman to climb the world's 14 highest peaks has been stripped of her title, after a mountaineering body claimed evidence she had completed the challenge was "unreliable".

Oh Eun-Sun, 44, "probably failed" to reach the top of the world's third highest mountain Kanchenjunga, according to the Korean Alpine Federation (KAF) on Thursday.

The record should now pass to Spanish climber Edurne Pasaban, 37, who scaled the last of the 14 peaks over 8,000 meters barely three weeks after Miss Oh claimed to have completed the list.

I suppose she could claim she was carrying two flags, a Korean one and a Black Yak one. But why would you drag the Korean flag out of yer jacket short of the summit but still have your sponsor's flag about your person when you got up there?

I might have missed something here, though. I can't see where it is claimed which flag was found short of the summit. If it was the "Black Yak" flag, well that's pretty much it.

It's a shame in so many ways. I wish I had it in me to get within a handful of metres of the top of Kangchenjunga, so, in my book she's done an amazing thing which I envy. So sad to diminish it by getting carried away with list bagging (if that's what happened)

Oh yeah, and fish were swimming around the Himalayan summits long before mankind dragged himself out of the primordial swamp and sat down to watch TV.

Perhaps she dropped the flag on the way down instead of up. At least that would have been a better story to tell (assuming she made it up).

You'd think the sherpas would know with certainty whether they were on top or not. Wasn't there anyone on the team who had climbed it before?

I guess no one knows for sure whether she made it or not but the evidence looks pretty daming to me. When a mountaineering council comprised of people who have climbed it before say there are no rocks on the summit, and she is standing next to a pile of rocks in her summit shot, then it seems pretty clear she did not make it all the way. On top of that, she refused to meet with them. If I were in her shoes and sure I had made the summit, I'd want to go look those people in the eye and tell them so.

But, when the first one of these does it, now that will truly be something...

When is it not a big deal to climb all of the 8000m peaks? That is a great accomplishment. I doubt your climbing accomplishments compare to either of these 2 women. Anyone who has climbed all of the 8000m peaks definitely deserves some respect. And the first woman to do it has indeed done something very special.

Alpinist wrote:When is it not a big deal to climb all of the 8000m peaks? That is a great accomplishment. I doubt your climbing accomplishments compare to either of these 2 women. Anyone who has climbed all of the 8000m peaks definitely deserves some respect. And the first woman to do it has indeed done something very special.

Like I said, BFD! Neither of those women have ever climbed a a Grade V A5 Route. Thus, in my book, BFD!

Until they do so, they ain't shit.

Jest of my point, so fking what if they are the FIRST women to climb all 8K meter hills on this planet.

Alpinist wrote:A South Korean mountaineer hailed as the first woman to climb the world's 14 highest peaks has been stripped of her title, after a mountaineering body claimed evidence she had completed the challenge was "unreliable".

Oh Eun-Sun, 44, "probably failed" to reach the top of the world's third highest mountain Kanchenjunga, according to the Korean Alpine Federation (KAF) on Thursday.

The record should now pass to Spanish climber Edurne Pasaban, 37, who scaled the last of the 14 peaks over 8,000 meters barely three weeks after Miss Oh claimed to have completed the list.